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Posted in ARD on September 6, 2020
Many first-time DUI offenders participate in a pretrial diversionary program called Accelerated Rehabilitate Disposition (ARD) that allows a person to have the charges dismissed and expunged upon completion of the program requirements. Whether a person is approved to participate in ARD is generally up to the District Attorney in the particular county, and the District… view more
Posted in Constitutional Rights on August 23, 2020
DISCLAIMER – This is NOT an article about my personal opinion on whether or not masks should be worn. I have a Juris Doctorate degree, and that degree gives me the ability to provide legal advice. I do not have a doctorate in the medical field, which means that I should NOT give an opinion on… view more
Posted in Sentencing on July 11, 2020
Many people want to know whether or not medicinal marijuana can be used while a person is on probation or parole in Pennsylvania. In the past, the answer depended upon what county was supervising the probation or parole. Some counties allowed medicinal use of marijuana, but other county probation departments did not. On June 18th… view more
Posted in Constitutional Rights on May 25, 2020
During the Coronavirus pandemic, some people focused on buying and hoarding toilet paper, but other people chose to focus on buying a gun. According to a recent article, the Pennsylvania State Police conducted approximately 305,000 background search reports between January and March of 2020 for people that were attempting to buy a gun. That number… view more
Posted in ARD,DUI on May 21, 2020
The Pennsylvania Superior Court issued a ground breaking decision and held that participation in Pennsylvania’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program for a DUI offense cannot be used to treat a subsequent driving under the influence case as a second or subsequent offense for mandatory minimum sentencing purposes. This decision will have a huge impact on… view more
Posted in Constitutional Rights,DUI on May 10, 2020
The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently reviewed a Cumberland County DUI conviction and concluded that the original judge had incorrectly denied the suspect’s request for suppression of evidence. In the case, captioned Commonwealth v. Wallett 1677 MDA 2019, Wallett argued that her constitutional rights were violated when a police officer stopped her vehicle in a residential… view more
Posted in Constitutional Rights on April 14, 2020
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping across the nation, the Pennsylvania governor issued an executive order that allows for a relatively small number of inmates to be released from state prison. The goal of the order is to reduce the prison population and thereby reduce the number of people, both inmates and guards,… view more
Posted in Centre County DUI on April 5, 2020
The law applies to everyone, including police officer when performing their duties and conducting investigations. If the police violate a person’s constitutional rights during an investigation, then the law requires that evidence seized as a result of the violation must be suppressed and cannot be used at future court proceedings. It is a simple concept,… view more
Posted in General on March 31, 2020
The Coronavirus epidemic is bringing out the best in some people, with people sewing masks for medical personnel, and community members coming together to support one another with physical, mental, and emotional needs. Regrettably, bad times also brings out the worst in some people, exemplified by a recent vigilante incident in Maine. According to online… view more
Posted in Constitutional Rights on February 14, 2020
I grew up in Happy Valley, attended Penn State, and currently reside in the area, so I am biased in favor of Penn State. While I am proud of my connections to Penn State, I am disappointed in an apparent double standard that Penn State has employed when disciplining Greek organizations when allegations of misconduct… view more
